Little Nightmares' launch trailer is its most unsettling yet

"Play with your childhood fears."

In January, I suggested that the then latest trailer for Tarsier Studios' Little Nightmares was its scariest yet. Demonstrating nine different ways micro protagonist Six could meet her demise, I stand by that claim however now think the puzzle-platformer's launch trailer is scarier still.

Having read Samuel's review ahead of the game's April 28 release date, the following short plays directly into the childhood fear elements of horror that Sam found so unsettling. It's of little surprise, then, that Little Nightmares champions the axiom "Play with your childhood fears" and that its launch trailer is also named 'Childhood Fears'.

From that I get the sense that it's what we can't see that's more terrifying than what we actually can.

At EGX Rezzed earlier this year, I took Little Nightmares for a brief but enjoyable spin. The ways in which it combines its environmental puzzles with flash moments of horror was genuinely scary—even beyond its terse jump scares—and I'm now looking forward to trying out the full experience.

What actually is the Maw? Why is a nine-year old trapped there? Who is that mysterious woman at the trailer's end? I've loads of questions—all of which I'll get the chance to answer on Friday, when Little Nightmares releases in full.